RECREATION & LIFESTYLE

Recreation & Lifestyle

Welcome to Recreation & Lifestyle, which includes leisure riding and other aspects of the equestrian lifestyle for you and your horse loving friends and family.

Looking for the perfect present? See the Gifts & Jewelry section. Redecorating? Find a Painting, Photograph or Sculpture in the Artwork section. Need to check out a movie or crawl up with a good book or magazine? See our Entertainment section where you will find and Books, Movies, Games, and Magazines. And don't forget about Fine Art in some specialty Museums that might surprise you.

Looking for love or a trail buddy? Riding Partners is the spot to seek other riders who share your passion. Find a place to ride with that special person in our Trail Riding section and if you need more time away, take a look at Vacations. Want to know about the next horse show or special event? Don’t miss it! Dates and locations are included in the Calendar of Events for Recreation & Lifestyle.

Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!

R.W. Rider

The weather has well and truly turned. To say it’s shitty is an understatement. In spite of what felt like a pretty mild Christmas, January has arrived and wow, has it let us know it’s here. But whatever the weather, I still venture out daily and today has been no exception. I’ve been up since about 5 a.m. and am officially knackered. A rather looming deadline, one I’ve left until the very last minute – well done, me – meant waking at the crack of dawn like some nocturnal creature and hitting the keys on my Mac for a few hours.

To be fair, while I seriously loathe that immediate feeling of sheer exhaustion when your alarm goes off, getting up early and smashing out a whole chunk of work before the sun even rises is my favourite way to start the day. Not because I’m dedicated… well I guess I am a little, but mainly because it means I can drop the laptop back on the bed and head to my favourite place in the middle of the day – the yard.

Is it bad that I’ve always loved my own company? I don’t think so, though I could do without the pitying stares that constantly come my way. I love my friends, I do. I love my family, or what family I have – just me and mum – but I also love my own company. Well, my company when I’m with my man. That man just so happens to weigh about three quarters of a tonne, have four mighty striking legs and the cutest little whiskers. That man is my warmblood Lincoln.

Today my diary is marked for the farrier visit. Yet another one of Lincoln’s regular spa days as I call them. Every seven weeks on the dot, this guy gets four new shoes and I get a slightly lighter wallet. Thankfully, the sting’s taken out of handing over almost £100 every seven weeks by the sheer fact that I’m secretly in love with the man who takes it. Before you say it… how cliché. Yes, yes, who’d have thought it? A horsey girl in love with the farrier, but Jesus man, the guy’s a god.

I’ve known Eddie for years, even before Lincoln came along. I knew him as the guy who used to shoe my old loan pony before I could actually afford my own horse. It’s funny because I actually began using a different farrier when I got Lincoln, who as it turns out preferred ‘shoeing’ of a different kind. He gave some random guy a good seeing to after a night on the sauce and got sent down for GBH.

I needed a farrier to step in at the last minute before a show and who should volunteer in all his man-mountain glory but Eddie? I’d always admired him from afar. He’s a rugged kind of handsome, with a dark curly mop on top of his head and stubble to match. He also happens to be thirty - three, a little older than me, but that doesn’t stop the continual spark between us. I’ve never had any intention of taking it further though – just the thought of being another notch on a farrier’s rasp turns my stomach.

It was a lovely Indian summer day on the plains when I mounted Birdie. As usual, the gallant pony appeared as eager as I to get on the road. All traces of snow had melted in the warm sun. Fresh from the week off, she galloped across the plain as though she enjoyed it. The first day out was a great pleasure. I yearned for the solitude that allows my thoughts to settle. Riding alone encourages introspection. The rhythmic sound of Birdie’s hoof beats and the puffing of her warm breath sent me into a quiet meditation. Time with my dear desperado had changed me and filled me with unanswered questions. Could I now continue to live without the tender attentions of a loving man as I had done for the first forty years of my life? Would I become incurably bored without society and find a man to be another entrapment? Should I go on with my journey, or should I stop here in the heartbeat of the wild? It is in the interludes between being in company that we talk to ourselves. In the silence we listen to ourselves. In the quietude we find answers.

by the EIE Editorial Staff

Owning a horse can be a wonderful and life fulfilling experience. For many of us it is a lifelong dream come true. As a child, how many of us would blow out birthday candles fervently wishing for a pony or horse? You’ve decided that now it’s time to move forward and actually purchase a horse of your own.

Taking the plunge can be an intimidating process since for most people, buying a horse is a completely unfamiliar journey.

Learning from other’s mistakes is a great way to prepare for your purchase of a horse. So, what are some of the pitfalls to avoid?

We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 of the most common mistakes novice horse owners make when buying a horse or pony.

Common Mistakes People Make When Buying Their First Horse

Buying Sight-Unseen or on the Internet
Purchasing a Horse Based Solely on Color
Thinking a Free Horse is Really Free
Failing to Seek Out Experienced Advice when Purchasing
Not Buying a Horse That Fulfills Your Needs
Buying from People With No, (or Questionable), Reputations
Not Trying the Horse for Yourself
Going Blindly into an Auction
Buying an Untrained Horse
Not Considering Older Horses

1. Buying Sight-Unseen or on the Internet

We are all emotionally touched by the magnificent horses we see online. There are beautiful cinematic videos on the Internet of horses moving gallantly and gracefully, well photographed and compelling. The animal is jumping like a dream, running barrels in record time, or simply galloping free through a picturesque landscape.

Today, virtually everything is available online. It’s perfectly reasonable to think that this should apply to horses as well, but it doesn’t. Horses aren’t commodities. They are individuals, with unique needs and temperaments, and like the foundation of all successful long-term relationships, you must have a strong connection.

A horse only familiar with its previous owner or trainer may perform very differently for a new owner or in a new environment. Meeting the horse in person will allow you to see firsthand what the horse is like, and how the two of you mesh. You would never buy a car without a test drive, so why wouldn’t you take the same precaution for a transaction which is much more personal than buying a car?

“In fact if it weren’t for horses, I probably wouldn’t have gone to college...”

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Fourth graders in Marion County are about to get a lesson about the equine industry as they gallop into the fictional world of a boy and his wild black stallion.

Through the Black Stallion Reading Project, elementary students in the north central Florida county are getting what could be their first or only encounter with a horse.

We’re getting a show this morning! Sham is a 5-year-old male black stallion. #BlackStallionReadingProject @MarionCountyK12 @WCJB20 pic.twitter.com/oVwh4S3TjV
— Julia Laude (@JuliaMaeLaude) March 29, 2021

In partnership with the Ocala Horse Alliance, these students will receive a copy of ‘The Black Stallion’ by Walter Farley, and their own ‘tack trunk.’

“It a great way to engage students in reading and give them exposure to horses and maybe even get them thinking about a career in the horse industry. And not just a book. They’re also going to get a tack trunk that has horse related items in it including sealed bags of hay and sugar cubes,” MCPS School Boar Chair, Nancy Thrower said.

Over the next five years, the Black Stallion Reading Project will allow students to get up close and personal with horses.

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Fourth graders in Marion County are about to get a lesson about the equine industry as they gallop into the fictional world of a boy and his wild black stallion.

Through the Black Stallion Reading Project, elementary students in the north central Florida county are getting what could be their first or only encounter with a horse.

We’re getting a show this morning! Sham is a 5-year-old male black stallion. @MarionCountyK12 @WCJB20 pic.twitter.com/oVwh4S3TjV
— Julia Laude (@JuliaMaeLaude) March 29, 2021

In partnership with the Ocala Horse Alliance, these students will receive a copy of ‘The Black Stallion’ by Walter Farley, and their own ‘tack trunk.’

Over the next five years, the Black Stallion Reading Project will allow students to get up close and personal with horses.

by Laura Hesse

The golden palomino standing before her with soft brown eyes and a silver mane and tail was drop dead gorgeous… and much too young to be that pregnant! What was a filly like her doing at a slaughter house auction? Would her father let Linda take her home? Times were hard. Could they afford the vet bills for the filly and her unborn foal? There were bound to be many. Find the answer to these questions in this amazing Hallmark style story about love at first sight and the girl who just wouldn’t give up on the filly called Easter, especially when Mother Nature enters into the fray. Inspired by a true story.

The Auction

“Dad,” Linda McCloud asked casually from across the kitchen table, a spoonful of Cheerios in one hand, the bowl on the table in front of her more cereal than milk.

“Yes, Sweet Pea,” Tom McCloud replied. He sighed heavily and put down the Financial Post, a dispirited look on his face. Beef prices were still low and showed no sign of getting any better. He folded the paper an extra two times and tossed it in the recycle box by the door: out of sight, out of mind!

“Can I come to the auction with you and Ross today?” his daughter beamed sweetly.

Tom looked up and grinned, his spirits lifting at the sight of the sparkling blue eyes and the earnest face that greeted him. Linda was the image of her mother: blue-grey eyes, shoulder length dirty blond hair and a full moon face. She was the picture of innocence, however cheeky her motive. His heart swelled with pride whenever he looked at her. His daughter never ceased to amaze him and he wasn’t surprised by her question. Tom tried to keep his face stern and sober. He already knew why she wanted to come today, but didn’t let on.

“You don’t think that you’d be bored? Cattle auctions, these days, aren’t much fun,” he said, lifting a mug to his lips. He gulped down the last of the strong coffee and placed the “World’s Greatest Dad” mug down on the table. It had been a Christmas present from his son and daughter a couple of years ago; it was his favorite cup.

“I won’t get in your way. I promise. I’d just like to go, that’s all,” she finished. “You’ve never taken me before and I want to see the bulls. I think it’d be neat!”